Hastings Sharpshooter Shakes Sibling Rivalry to Carve Own Path

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June 25, 2024

by Tom Pedulla—

Sibling rivalries can be challenging.

Katie Drozd learned that when she made the Hastings varsity girls’ basketball team as a freshman. She not only had to find her way at a new level of the sport but her sister was a well-established senior star for the Yellow Jackets.

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It was not the best of times for Drozd. “It was really negative,” she said, “because everyone was always comparing. ‘Who is going to be better?’”

Drozd felt driven to match strides with her older sister — that was no mean feat. Lindsay had been a member of Nike’s 2018 National Gold Championship team. She was an All-State performer. She wound up committing to Division 1 Manhattan College.

Katie played sparingly as a Hastings freshman, finishing with only 14 points. She breathed a sigh of relief when her sister went on to Manhattan.

“It was a constant competition. So, when she was gone, I kind of felt like I was free,” she said. “I could be myself, my own player, and not have to be the same as her.”

Katie, no longer in her sister’s huge shadow, began to establish her identity and mold her own game. It became more about what she could do than what Lindsay could do.

And the shots began to fall. She tallied 204 points as a sophomore and erupted for 446 points as a junior. She tacked on another 353 points as a senior despite missing some games and being slowed by a stress fracture in her left foot.

The 5-11 small forward became the seventh girl in Hastings’ history to score at least 1,000 points. The magical moment occurred Feb. 3 when Izzy Doherty keyed a fast break and kicked it back to her high-scoring teammate. Fittingly Drozd, a serious deep threat from all sides of the court, drained a three-pointer.

“It felt unreal almost,” Drozd said. “I always thought I would never get to 1,000 points because of the way my freshman season went.”

Her long-range scoring prowess caught the attention of Debbie Buff, the women’s basketball coach at Division 2 New Haven. Buff was painfully honest with Drozd as the recruiting process unfolded.

“I can’t have you on my team unless you get your defense better and your rebounding better,” she told her.

Drozd responded in a big way. She worked on her ability to stop opponents by facing off against Lindsay in what are now friendly one-on-one games. “By her being a good offensive player and a better slasher, it helps my defense because I need to work on my defense and staying low,” she said.

As for rebounding, she found herself in disbelief after she pulled down a whopping 24 caroms against nearby rival Dobbs Ferry. “Seriously?” she asked when told of her rebounding total versus the Eagles.

Drozd is eager to embrace the opportunity New Haven is giving her. “I’m very excited for college. I’ve been excited for college as soon as I got the offer,” she said. “I’ve been ready to go.”

She plans to major in exercise science and recently completed an internship at Spear Physical Therapy in Dobbs Ferry.

And that sibling rivalry? That definitely eased. Both are comfortable in their own skin, recognizing that their high-level skills are different. While Lindsay possesses the more effective mid-range game, Katie represents a huge threat from beyond the three-point arc.

So which sister is better?

“We’re both very good players. It’s hard to say one of us is better,” said Katie, knowing the competition spurred each of them to great heights.

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